Charlie Wilson's War
by ClinicDuty101
Summary: Charlie Wilson has come to Princeton-Plainsboro in search of a father whom she’s never met before. With no other family to comfort her after the death of her mother, she has to battle between hate and the need for family from the last person in her life.
1. Deathbed

**Deathbed**

Charlie Wilson sat at her mother's deathbed staring absentmindedly at the wall; she had no step-father, no siblings, and no grandparents to comfort her. Soon enough she'd have no mother, and then she'd be alone in the world.

There was her father but god knows where he was. Her mother had fallen pregnant at eighteen and her father had scarpered leaving them to fend for themselves. All Charlie could feel was hatred towards a man she had never met, he had no right to abandon her mother, no right to vanish into thin air and no right not to pay for his mistake.

For years Charlie had asked her mother who the man was, but she'd refused stating there was no need to bring the past back into their lives, what was done was done and bringing her father back wouldn't change anything.

But she needed to know who he was now so she knew she wasn't alone in the world and that she could make him face up to what he'd done to her but also what he'd done to her mother in the process of leaving. He'd broken her heart and it had never mended over twenty years, Charlie was pretty sure this seperation hadn't affected him at all.

Many times she'd tried to find her him on her own as on her birth certificate stated that she'd been given his last name; however Charlie hit a brick wall realising how many people in the world had the last name of Wilson.

There was no use trying to find out who he was unless she asked her mother one last time before there were no other chances left.

--

Joanne Wilkins was lying on her bed pretending to be asleep whilst secretly watching her daughter crumble before her. The cancer that was growing inside of her lungs was taking its toll and now there was nothing to do but wait here and die.

The last three years had been hard and looking after a teenage Charlie had been trying, she'd had to face the tears, the depression and the arguements as her daughter had been in denial. Charlie had been determined to think that her mother's cancer wasn't terminal, but this recent decrease of health had forced Charlie into acceptance.

It was heartbreaking to watch her sit here each day trying to not break down as they talked about everything and anything.

At thirty-eight Joanne had thought that she'd live to see her daughter get married, have children and then die. But life was cruel. She only just been alive to witness her daughter grow from a child to a young adult and that was all she was going to see. The doctors had told her she had about a week left and that they would make her as comfortable as possible, but where was the comfort in knowing you were going to leave the most important person in your life behind?

The truth was that there wasn't any.

Joanne decided to open her eyes properly and she watched her daughter turn her head slightly to face her and give a small smile.

"Good morning mom." Charlie greeted her.

"Good morning...honey." she replied having to take a deep breath as she clutched the oxygen mask to her face.

"You're looking better."

Joanne rolled her eyes before she took another deep breath "you were...never good...at lying."

"I thought I'd get you on your good side before I ask something." She said taking her mother's hand and stroking it with her forefinger.

"What is it?"

"Who's my father?"

Joanne recoiled slightly and looked away, she'd been dreading this moment ever since Charlie had been eight and asked her who he was the first time. It was easy to dismiss the question, but now it was harder to deprive her daughter of the knowledge of her parentage, especially since it was really the last chance to she could tell her.

"His name is..." she paused taking breath once more, she was finding it harder each day to take a simple breath of air without feeling like she'd taken none at all. "James Wilson...was going...to study...medicine...that's all I...know."

"Are you sure mom? There must be something else...anything else; I can't just go on that."

"Last I heard...he was in...New Jersey...don't know if...he became...a doctor."

"You don't know where in New Jersey?" Charlie asked desperate for more information.

"No...try...hospitals...just in case."

Charlie remained silent in thought, she was thankful with this small shred of information and decided to drop the subject. She sat with her mother for a few more hours before she fell asleep and Charlie was made her way home. She was going back to the empty house that used to be a home for her mother as well, but because of her decline in health the hospital became her permenant residence.

She decided she was going to take her mother's advice and ring round the hospitals in New Jersey till she found a James Wilson, and when she found him she was going to pay a little visit.


	2. Phone Call

**Phone Call**

The phone rang six times before the nurse at the front desk picked it up.

"Good afternoon, Princeton Plainsborough teaching hospital. How can I help you?"

"Hi" came the short and snappy reply from Charlie. She was on edge like she had been for the duration of the rest of the phone calls that she'd made in hope that this hospital would be the one where James Wilson worked. "I was wondering do you have a Dr. James Wilson working here at all?" she asked politely as she was crossing her fingers.

"Yes we do, he's head of oncology. Would you like me to transfer you through?"

"If that's not a problem." She sighed with relief and started mentally preparing herself with the first conversation she was ever going to have with her father.

"Who's calling?" the nurse asked as she checked Wilson's appointment list on a computer screen. It said that he didn't have a patient currently in his room.

"Charlie Wilkins."

"Could you hold on a second whilst I put you on hold?"

The phone started to play a very annoying yet catchy jingle that Charlie decided to hold away from her ear whilst she waited for a human voice to greet her.

Wilson picked up his phone on the second ring, he was bog down with paperwork and his next patient was due in ten minutes. He was also upset by the fact he would have to tell this man that the tumour in his pancreas was terminal and that he had six months to live. He hated that part of his job.

"James Wilson" he answered.

"Hi Doctor Wilson."

"Hi Christie." He greeted on recognising her voice "how are things at reception?"

"Manic but it should die down soon. How are you?"

"I've got so much work I'm regretting going out with Doctor House last night. Anyway, what do you need me for?"

"I have a Charlie Wilkins on the other line; she wants to talk to you."

The name Wilkins rang a bell but Wilson couldn't remember why, he decided to leave that question unresolved till tomorrow.

"Could you tell her I'm busy right now, but she can make an appointment tomorrow, around noon."

"Ok Doctor Wilson."

Wilson put the receiver down and pushed the name Wilkins to the back of his mind, he had bigger things to worry about right now.

How wrong he was.

Back in the reception the nurse called Christie was making excuses for him.

"I'm sorry he's busy right now but he said that you can come in at twelve tomorrow, is that ok?"

Annoyed and disheartened Charlie agreed to the appointment at twelve. She put the phone down and added that he was probably a workaholic to the list of things she hated about him.

She grabbed some clothes from a pile of washing she'd done earlier, and decided to visit the hospital again to see her mother and tell her the slightly good news. She had a lead and she was going to visit him tomorrow.

When Charlie arrived to her mother's room she found a doctor standing there waiting for her.

"Your mother suffered some respiratory distress whilst you were away. We managed to get her stabilised but we had to increase her oxygen supply again. It doesn't look like she's going to last the week."

Charlie looked over to her mother and remembered how this morning she'd joked about how she'd been looking better, now she looked even worse than before.

The doctors words were still swirling round her head even though he'd left the room.

"_It doesn't look like she's going to last the week."_

With a heavy heart she took her mother's hand once again and waited for her to wake, the same routine as this morning.

--

Joanne woke within half an hour of waiting and looked at the sadness in her daughters eyes.

It was getting worse. The episode that she'd had earlier had decreased her health even more, death was getting close, she could feel it.

"Any...joy?" she wheezed trying to keep her spirits up, she held the mask close to her face replacing it now with every word she spoke.

"I got a lead." Charlie replied in a detached voice "but we don't need to worry about it for now."

"Yes...we...do" her mother said determinedly "where...is...he?"

"Please mom, just sleep. You need to keep your strength."

"For...what? I...can't...move...anywhere...tell...me...about...him"

"He doesn't matter!" Charlie snapped "He broke your heart, let him go! He's got nothing to do with us!"

"He's...got...everything...to...do...with...you...he's...your-"

But Charlie cut her off, "He's nothing to me!"

"When...I...go...he's...your...only...chance...of...family"

"I don't need him. I'll be fine."

"Why...did...you...look...for...him...then?"

"Because...because" As Charlie broke down in tears, her mother gripped her daughter's hand and with her other smoothed her Charlie's wavy auburn hair. They remained like that for two minutes before Joanne broke away and laid back on the bed, her hand still clutched round Charlie's.

"Tell...me...what...you...found."

"He's working at Princeton Plainsborough teaching hospital in New Jersey." Charlie replied listing the two facts off of the top of her memory. "And he's head of the oncology department. That's all I could gather from the woman at the reception, it also seems like he's a very busy man. He couldn't even talk to me for ten seconds. I've made an appointment to see him tomorrow. It's at noon, so I'll be leaving tonight, staying in New Jersey and I won't be back till the evening. Is that ok with you?"

"Course...it...is..." she took another longer breath from the mask before continuing with, "When...you...come...back...I...want...to...know...everything"

"That's if I don't beat him or kill him for leaving you." Charlie said with a malicious glint in her hazel brown eyes.

"Be...nice...to...him"

"And why should I do that?"

Her mother raised a weary eyebrow and it said it all.

"I'll try. But if he says something I don't like I'm not going to waste time trying to keep up my 'good' first impression."

"That's...my...girl..." she paused again before saying "You...nervous?"

"A little, but if he's what I'm expecting him to be I'm not going to be overly impressed."

"Well...you're...not...exactly...going...to...be...what...he...expected"

"He should've stuck around then." Charlie replied bluntly "Then I wouldn't have to pop up twenty years down the line and introduce myself as his long lost spawn."

"There's...no...getting...through...to...you...is...there?"

"Nope."

--

Later on in the evening Charlie said goodbye to her mother and kissed her on the forehead before gathering up her backpack of clean clothes that she'd packed earlier for tomorrow.

"Don't go anywhere without me. Promise?" she asked now frightened of leaving, just in case the inevitable happened and she wasn't there to say goodbye.

"I...promise...kiddo" her mother said with a warm smile playing on her lips.

Seeing that smile brought comfort to Charlie and she felt slightly more at ease before she set off.

She left the hospital and started driving towards New Jersey, she was shaking with anticipation. But she was confused whether she should be nice and sugar coat the life she'd experienced without him, or tell this guy the harsh truth about everything he'd left behind when he ran off to med school when he was nineteen. She deliberated for three hours and still wasn't able to make her mind up, Charlie hoped she'd be able to decide in the morning what she was going to say.

She booked in to a hotel about half an hour's drive away from her destination and took a bath before she went to bed. Whilst drying off she looked in the mirror and for the first time in years she wondered what aspects of her body she'd inherited from her father. She had an inkling that she had his eyes and his colour hair, as her mother's eyes were dark green and her hair was ebony black. But she also wondered if they had the same taste in music or the way they took their coffee. The amount of questions that arose within her mind set her thinking far into the night before falling into a dreamless sleep.

Tomorrow was certainly going to be eventful day for both Wilson and the daughter he never knew he had.

**They're going to meet in the next chapter! Excited?**

**Review Please :)**


	3. Unexpected Arrival

**Unexpected Arrival**

Charlie had entered the hospital at quarter to twelve; her hands were mildly shaking because of her nervousness. She was finally going to meet the father she'd never met, the man who had been missing from her life for twenty years. She walked towards the reception and asked a bubbly blonde nurse which floor doctor Wilson was on. The nurse checked the computer and ticked Charlie's name off before pointing her to the lift and telling her to press the button for the third floor.

As she reached the third floor she walked past a rather large conference room, she could vaguely make out some shapes behind the closed blinds of three youngish doctors discussing something with a middle-aged man with a cane; she guessed he must be a patient or something because he wasn't wearing a lab coat like they were. Charlie read the name on the door which said that the guy in charge here was Gregory House and he was head of diagnostics, whatever that speciality was.

She walked further on and found that the door next to this conference room read the name of her father, James Wilson – Head of Oncology. The nervousness worsened as she raised a shaky fist to knock on the door. As her knuckles hit the wood the sound that they made seemed to deafen her. As the door opened she took a sharp intake of breath as a man of late thirties opened the door.

"Come in." He greeted with a smile "you must be Charlie"

The man before her was completely different to the way she imagined him, she imagined this guy to look like a wreak, he was supposed to have wrinkles, or have a bad temper, at least have some flaw but this man looked like he had none.

"Are you ok?" he asked suspiciously as she hadn't moved in two minutes.

"Oh, yeah." She replied finding her voice. Secretly she was wishing that he was the guy next door, and then he would've lived up to her low expectations. She walked into his office and instantly saw a poster of Alfred Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' hanging on the wall, she had to admit then he had a good taste in films.

"Do you want a glass of water?"

"Water would be nice." This gave Charlie a chance to look round his office more thoroughly; she looked at all the certificates hanging on the wall and wondered if he thought all this was worth leaving a woman whom he left pregnant. He probably thought she'd aborted the baby and slept at night without worrying about anything but himself.

"So what did you need to see me for Miss Wilkins?" he asked as he sat back at his desk. He pushed the water towards her and she took the glass and took a sip.

"A couple of things actually, I hope you've got a free schedule."

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow and wondered what this woman meant.

"I'm free till two, is that enough time?" he asked surveying her passive expression.

"I hope it is." She answered looking at his eyes; she noticed they were a shade lighter than her own but nevertheless still the same colour. She took a deep breath before starting, but the truth was she didn't know where to start. "Have you ever been to Connecticut?"

Wilson sat confused at this odd question; he had hoped this was going to be a consultation not question time relating to him. "I erm, used to live there. Why is this relevant?"

"I just need you to answer these questions first and then I'll make it clear why I'm here." She answered him with a slight sharpness to her voice. "Do you remember a girl called Joanne?"

His eyebrows knitted together in thought, he racked his brains until he remembered a pale skinny teenager with ebony black hair and vivid blue eyes holding onto his arm as they walked to the cinema.

"Yes I do. Joanne...Wilkins. She and I used to date before..." he stopped and looked over at the woman sitting opposite him. It couldn't be her, she looked too young. But he remembered her last name was Wilkins.

"Before?" Charlie pressed.

"Before I broke up with her and left for med school." He said with a note of shame in his voice. "How is she?"

"Dying of lung cancer." The answer was so short, so brutal that it stung him.

"How long has she got left?" he asked seeing the irony that his ex-girlfriend was dying of cancer and that he was an oncologist.

"Less than a week."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but what relation are you to her?"

"I'm her daughter."

"Your too old to be her daughter, Joanne would've had to have fallen pregnant when she was nineteen, twenty."

"She fell pregnant at eighteen."

None of this was making sense, why was Joanne's daughter coming here to tell him that her mother was dying. What did it have to do with him?

"I'm sorry but what's this got to do with me?"

Charlie started getting impatient. For a doctor this man was really stupid.

"Let me make this a bit easier for you." She said spitefully. "Did you or did you not have sex with my mother before you left her to rot in Connecticut?"

"We did. But why is that relevant?"

"Did she not tell you that she fell pregnant with your child?"

"No." He replied, his head now spinning. He'd gotten Joanne pregnant before breaking up and leaving her on her own.

There was a pause before she broke it with, "Hello daddy."

He did a double take making sure this wasn't a sick joke before he looked into her eyes which struck him as so similar to his own. It was only before House knocked on the sliding doors did he start to feel even worse.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked feeling the tension within the room.

"Nothing." Wilson replied still in shock, he held a palm to his forehead unable to look this woman in the eye anymore. She was his daughter.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" House asked whilst his eyes flickered up and down Charlie's posture.

"Think again." She replied icily.

"Oh Wilson." House said with glee "You didn't tell me you had a new piece of fluff. I must say that it's bold of you to get her to come to work. What would Cuddy say if she caught you at it on the desk?"

"She's not my mistress." Wilson said inwardly cringing. If only House knew who she really was.

"There's no way she's a patient. She's too healthy and way too attractive to be here for a consultation."

"Do you want to tell him or shall I?" Charlie asked admiring this man for making her father squirm. She could tell by the cane that this man must be from next door.

"Tell me what?" House asked now on tenterhooks, he felt like all his birthdays had come at once. He was going to find out about Wilson's dirty little secret and he didn't even need to figure it out.

"I'm his daughter." Charlie said looking over at her father who seemed to want the ground to swallow him up.

"No way!" House laughed "are you serious?" he looked over to Wilson who nodded. "Why have you turned up now?" he asked Charlie "you don't want his money do you? Because after three divorces he hasn't got a lot of money to spare."

"I don't want his money. We've survived twenty years without a cent of it."

"We being your mother I take it."

"Yeah, the woman he left behind to go to become a doctor."

"So she must be the reason why you've come to visit your old man?"

"Yes."

" Well it must be either one of two things, she's either got a boyfriend who's hitting you...or, she's dying and you need somebody to be your shoulder to cry on." House paused to inspect her face again "judging by no marks on your face or arms I'm guessing mommy's dying."

Charlie broke down into tears suddenly, she couldn't control the panic and sadness which was always lying dormant and was forever bubbling on the surface, just then it decided to spill over.

Both men looked awkwardly at her, and House nodded his head in her direction as if to tell Wilson to do something. But Wilson was unsure whether she'd want him to hug her; he'd had no experience with kids and less emotional experience with women. Nevertheless rose from his seat and put his arms around her shoulders as she turned and sobbed into them.

"Aw where's the camera? I want to catch this daddy daughter moment." House interrupted.

"House!" Wilson snapped at him, some form of hidden paternal instinct had risen from within. "This is not the time!"

Charlie stopped sobbing and looked at him.

"I need to go." She said wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"You can't go anywhere in this state." Wilson interjected.

"I need to go and see my mom. This was stupid; I knew I shouldn't have let her talk me into coming to see you. She's got days left and I left her all alone in hospital, what was I thinking?"

"Let me drive you back, please Charlie" Wilson pleaded looking at the distress she was now in.

"Oh yeah, road trip. Can I come?" House asked as he was spinning his cane in-between his fingers.

Charlie gathered her things and walked towards the door, not before bumping into House and dropping her bag with everything in it.

"Are you always an asshole?" she asked grabbing the contents that had made its way onto the floor, but House had put his cane on top of her car keys.

"It's part of my charm." He replied before wincing and bending down to pick the keys up.

"Give them back." She demanded in frustration, all she wanted to do was leave and be with her dying mother.

"Daddy said he's driving." He retorted as he threw the keys to Wilson.

"I don't need either of you to look after me I -"

"Looked after yourself all your life, blah, blah, blah. We get it; now let's get a move on."

Wilson shrugged and led the way out of his office accompanied by a fuming Charlie and a smug looking House.

As he emerged the ducklings pounced on him.

"We've found a case!" Cameron said as she approached House.

"Sorry, road trip. Don't know when I'll be back. Tell Cuddy not to wait up." He replied as he left them looking gobsmacked.

They left the building in silence both father and daughter feeling awkward about the way this situation had turned out. Wilson was in the driver's seat and Charlie was in the passenger's, House took to the back so he could stretch out his leg. The ignition was turned on and they were off on the three hour journey back to Connecticut.

Today was just getting more interesting for House and worse for Wilson and Charlie.

**Review Please :)**


	4. Too Late

**Too Late**

**AN: Finally updated after a little while. Mostly Charlie & Wilson moments. House thrown in to try and break the tension. Enjoy.**

"Are we there yet?" House asked for what felt like the millionth time.

"No!" Charlie and Wilson both snapped back. She was on edge because she'd forgotten her mobile and she'd told the hospital to contact her if anything had gone wrong, she was hoping they hadn't needed to contact her.

Wilson was a mixed bag of emotions. He was nervous as he was about to meet his dying ex-girlfriend, he was irritated because House wouldn't stop acting like a five year old, and he was still recovering from shock as he was letting the fact that he was a father sink in. They were half an hours' drive away from the hospital and Wilson couldn't wait for this awkward ride to finish.

House was just plain bored, when he'd volunteered for this road trip he thought there was going to be shouting or some kind of drama which he could watch an analyse. Instead it was a very boring and silent car ride in which neither father nor daughter wanted to talk about the fact that they were in this situation. So to keep himself entertained House had decided to annoy both of them and found it increasingly funny that they both snapped at him in the same way. It was funny the way genes worked out.

"I'm hungry." House complained. "Don't you have any food stashed away in here?"

"I eat before I invite myself out." Charlie replied frostily. She couldn't understand why anyone, let alone her father would want to be friends with this man.

"It was an on the spot decision, anyway I thought it was going to be more fun than this. I would've been better off staying at work."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I'm all about the drama."

"I'm sorry we disappointed. Next time I'll announce that my dad is actually my brother."

"Is that true?"

"No."

"Good. Otherwise you'd be a more messed up family then you already are." He paused for a second so he could take a Vicodin pill. "Although it would be a great storyline."

That was the last of the conversation in the car until they pulled up outside the hospital. They were all still sitting in an awkward silence as Charlie looked at the hospital with a sense of unease bubbling within her stomach, she wasn't sure whether she wanted them to come with her to her mother's bedroom or to just go back in the direction they'd came from.

Intuition told her that they should come with her.

"You going in there or not?" House asked from his back seat, he wanted something to eat. Three hours on the road and no rest stop had made him irritable from lack of food.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Wilson asked his daughter after ignoring House's comment.

"Erm yeah...that would be nice..." Charlie replied as she looked over at her father, he smiled warmly back and opened the door to get out the car.

House followed suit and then finally Charlie joined them, she looked apprehensively at the hospital before taking a deep breath and walking into the reception. Her feet lead them all to her mother's room and the usual hum of machines had stopped.

Her breath caught in her throat as she walked into the room and found the bed empty. Wilson saw panic appear on Charlie's face.

"Are you sure we're in the right room?" he asked quietly.

"I've been coming here every day for three weeks, this is the right room." She replied as the panic kept rising. Her heart was beating faster, her hands were beginning to shake and tears were making their way into the corner of her eyes.

"I'll check to see where she is." House said breaking another uneasy silence. He limped away and then after what seemed forever he returned with a male doctor who Charlie thought she'd met before.

"I'm sorry." The doctor apologised. "She passed away this morning. It was congestive heart failure, we did everything we could." He then left the room silently as Charlie sank to the floor and wept.

House decided to leave the room once again and go looking for some food, he hated emotional moments, he could never say or do the right thing so he thought it best to be out of the way.

Wilson looked at Charlie in a heap on the floor and knelt down to comfort her. Here she was, his daughter crying her eyes over the mother who had loved and cared for her for twenty years, and he was supposed to be a substitute now she was gone. It just wasn't right.

"She...prom-promised to stick around t-t-till I got back." Charlie sobbed into her father's shoulder.

"It wasn't her fault." He replied stroking her hair.

"Why...why did she have to leave m-m-me?"

"I don't know. She didn't have any control over her death, her heart just gave out."

"She didn't have me with her."

"Once again that isn't your fault Charlie."

"Yes it is. I shouldn't have left her. I shouldn't have come looking for you."

"She wanted you to have someone to be there when this happened."

"I didn't even get to say goodbye." She said in a quiet voice as she looked over at the empty bed once again. "She was there yesterday morning, talking to me about you, urging me to go and find you. Now look, she's gone."

"You've got to stop blaming yourself for this. There was nothing you could've done."

"I could've been a good daughter and never left her side."

"There's no point in dwelling on what happened."

"My mother is DEAD! The last time she saw me was yesterday, she didn't even see me in the last day of her life and you want me to forget and move on? Who are you to talk to me like you know best? You know nothing about me! You know my name is Charlie and that my mother branded me with your last name and that's it. You don't know what my favourite colour is, when I got my first boyfriend, my favourite time of year, nothing! So stop trying to be my dad because I never had one when growing up and I don't have one now."

"I know you're grieving and you need to point the finger of blame at someone, but I'm here to help you through this."

"Like you were here to help me when we first found out that she had lung cancer? Like you were there after the first of the radiation session? Like you were there all three years I went through the pain and heartache watching her die right before me!"

"Stop it Charlie."

"No, because you know it's true. You may have had three wives, and have a successful job, but all she had in the world was me. The fruits of her and the man she loved for thirty years. So take a good look at yourself before thinking you're my dad and that you're going to make everything better."

"Charlotte stop it!" there was so much authority in Wilson's voice it almost startled him as much as he did Charlie. "Enough with the anger and resentment towards me, you can shout and yell as much as you want after we've buried Joanne. This is hurting me too, it's not like your mom was a quick fling before I went off to med school. She was the first woman I loved."

"Why did you leave her then?"

"Because I was a coward and I didn't face up to my feelings. I was more focused on becoming a doctor than what I had in my life back here."

"He just wanted to be a doctor rather than a mechanic like his dad." Interrupted a voice from the doorway. House had returned with a plastic spoon and a pot of pudding he'd managed to steal off of someone's tray. He was learning against the doorway whilst eating his dessert.

Both Wilson and Charlie looked at House with contempt in their hazel eyes.

"Only stating the truth, I mean what did he have going with your mom? Nothing really. Best he would've got staying here, was a desk job if he was lucky. But he did the right thing, became a doctor, married three beautiful yet neurotic women, got divorced three times and became best friends with me."

"Shut up and get back to the car House." Wilson ordered him.

"Another trip down memory lane?" House asked innocently.

"We're going to Charlie's."

"A sleepover?" House asked as he ate the last of his pudding. He threw the pot into the bin before saying "I get the bed! You know being a cripple and all, special privileges and all that."

Wilson ignored him and held out a hand to help Charlie up from the floor, she ignored it and got up herself. The tears had stopped for the moment and only anger and self loathing were remaining.

"Keys." She demanded holding out her hand.

Wilson obeyed and handed them over, Charlie then pushed her way past House and quickly walked back to the car park.

The atmosphere had become colder and she shivered when she realised that she was only wearing a short sleeve t-shirt. Charlie found her car and wrenched open the door with such ferocity that it scratched the car's next to its paintjob.

Wilson and House were a little behind and watched her as she got in the car and waited for them to catch up and get in.

"She's got on hell of a temper on her. Imagine what she's like with PMS." House commented.

"Just stop it. She's lost her mother and all you can do is make life hell for both me and her just so you don't feel out of place."

"You read me like a book." House replied as he took another Vicodin pill.

"Get in the car before she drives off without us." Wilson sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

This was the longest day he'd ever had and nothing was going to make it better.

**If you hadn't guessed Charlie is short for Charlotte, and that's why he calls her Charlotte.**

**Review Please :)**


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